Chapter 188: The Bun-Faced Pinch

 Chapter 188: The Bun-Faced Pinch

By July, the watermelons and grapes in the farm had begun to ripen one after another. With last year's harvest still available, this year, Madam Li had instructed Yan Zhiqiang to plant watermelons on over half of the Yan family's farms and fields.

Currently, watermelons were still scarce, and with the sales channels from her two older brothers, they could fetch a good price. This was a great opportunity for her to save up some money for the family.

By the end of July, both the Yan and Li families had made a significant profit. 

With the silver she had in hand, Madam Li once again purchased more farms and land for the family. Daohua followed suit and also bought another farm for herself.

Now, Daohua had five farms and three shops in her possession. She was truly a small rich lady.

In Daohua Xuan.

Daohua sat in the study, flipping through the detailed account books. Seeing how thorough the records were, she called for Wang Man'er. "Recently, Xiao Liu has been running around doing errands, and with the hot weather, he's been working hard. Please take ten taels of silver to him later."

Wang Man'er smiled and nodded. "Xiao Liu really is fortunate to have met you, Miss. Not only has he learned a trade, but he’s also earning silver." 

Daohua smiled. "That’s because he’s clever and diligent. If he were as dense as a wooden block, I wouldn’t have dared to use him."

Afterward, Wang Man'er happily took the silver to find Qin Xiao Liu.

Inside the room, Gu Yu and Li Xia looked on enviously.

They had been in the eldest young lady’s courtyard for several months now. Initially, they thought that since the eldest young lady dared to oppose the master, she must be hard to serve. However, after arriving, they realized that out of the four young ladies in the family, the eldest was the easiest to please.

As long as they followed the rules and did their work properly, the eldest young lady almost never gave them a cold shoulder or scolded them for no reason.

Sometimes, they could even joke around and make her laugh.

They had been living quite comfortably in Daohua Xuan.

In contrast, the other servants assigned to the other three young ladies weren’t as lucky.

The second young lady was gentle and composed, rarely reprimanding anyone. However, her quiet nature meant that her maids often dared not speak loudly around her.

The third young lady, favored by the master, was a little spoiled and would often lose her temper if things didn’t go her way. Her maids had to serve her very carefully every day.

The fourth young lady was the most mischievous, always playing around and breaking things. Her maids were constantly on edge, never knowing when something might go wrong.

Compared to them, Gu Yu and Li Xia were indeed much happier.

Moreover, the eldest young lady was very generous. This was something that the other three young ladies couldn't compare to. For example, when Qin Xiao Liu had finished his work, he was rewarded with ten taels of silver, which was nearly equivalent to two years' worth of monthly allowances for the other maids.

Not long after, Wang Man'er returned with a smile. "Miss, when I passed by the main courtyard, I ran into Sister Ping Tong. She said that the eldest master had sent a letter and mentioned that the three young masters would return home at the end of the month."

Daohua’s face brightened. "Really?"

Since the beginning of the school year, apart from the trip home at the end of February, the three Yan brothers hadn’t returned again, and everyone at home had been looking forward to their return.

"I thought we'd have to wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival to see them again."

Wang Man'er smiled. "The first day of August is your birthday, Miss. The three young masters will return just in time to celebrate."

Daohua smiled, her eyes curving. "What birthday? We can just eat a bowl of longevity noodles together." Then, resting her chin on her hand, she sighed, "I’ll be eleven soon."

On July 29th, the Yan brothers—Yan Wenxiu and his two brothers—returned to Yan Manor, along with Xiao Yeyang, Dong Yuanxuan, Su Hongxin, and the others.

This wasn’t a surprise to Daohua, but she still asked politely, "What brings you here?"

Xiao Yeyang, fanning himself, tilted his head and asked, "What? You’re not welcoming us?"

Daohua gave him a playful glare, turned sideways to curtsey, and smiled, "It’s an honor for our family that you’ve come. How could I not welcome you?"

Xiao Yeyang smiled, fanning himself while sizing Daohua up. After a few months, she seemed to have grown a bit taller, and her cheeks looked a bit rounder.

Had she been eating well and gained weight?

Looking at Daohua’s fair, flushed, and slightly puffed cheeks, Xiao Yeyang thought her face resembled a bun. Suddenly, he had an irresistible urge to pinch it.

"Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?" Daohua immediately touched her cheeks when she saw Xiao Yeyang staring at her face.

Xiao Yeyang quickly shifted his gaze away from Daohua’s face, and fanned himself a few times. "You should eat less in the future. Look at how fat you’ve gotten now."

Hearing this, Daohua immediately widened her eyes and touched her face with both hands, quickly asking Yan Wenkai and the others, "Am I fat? Could it be that I ate too many watermelons and grapes this month?"

Yan Wenkai leaned in, examining Daohua closely. "I think you look fine. In fact, a little more weight makes you even cuter." Saying this, his hands quickly reached out and pinched Daohua's cheeks.

"Ah, so soft! Big Sister, you should eat more. It feels even better to pinch now!" He finished with another pinch.

Daohua: "..."

Xiao Yeyang: "..."

Both of them widened their eyes and stared at Yan Wenxiu in disbelief.

Then, at the same time...

"Smack!"

"Smack!"

One hand from each of them landed a slap.

"Ouch!"

"What are you doing? Why are you hitting me?" Yan Wenkai grimaced, rubbing the back of his hand. The slap from Daohua wasn’t too hard, but Xiao Yeyang's slap really stung.

Daohua glared at him, rubbing her cheeks and fuming, "You deserve it. I should have hit you harder!"

Xiao Yeyang gave Yan Wenkai a sidelong glance, thinking bitterly that he had missed his chance to do what he wanted, and this guy had done exactly what Xiao Yeyang had wanted but couldn’t do.

The slap wasn’t enough!

"Aiya, Miss, stop rubbing your face, it’s turning red," Wang Man'er quickly said.

Daohua covered her face. "Really? It's red? No wonder it hurts so much," she said, giving Yan Wenkai a look of reproach. "Fourth Brother, you’re so annoying."

Yan Wenkai noticed the marks on Daohua’s cheeks, shrank his neck, and muttered, "How was I supposed to know you’re so sensitive to pinching?"

"Bang!"

Finally, Xiao Yeyang saw his chance. With a swift flick of his fan, he gave Yan Wenkai a slap on the shoulder. "Do you think all girls are as tough as you, with thick skin and muscles?"

Yan Wenxiu frowned and looked over disapprovingly. "You’re a martial artist, so of course, your strength is greater than most people’s. Big Sister’s face is delicate. You should know better than to be so rough."

Seeing everyone glaring at him, Yan Wenkai felt a little embarrassed, but Daohua felt a sense of relief in her heart.

At that moment, Madam Li entered with her maid, smiling as she approached. She intended to greet Xiao Yeyang and the others first, but when she saw Daohua’s red cheeks, she quickly walked over, concerned. "What happened? Why is your face so red?"

At these words, Yan Wenkai immediately hid behind everyone.

Daohua glanced at her quivering Fourth Brother, pouted, and said, "Fourth Brother did it."

When she heard this, Madam Li’s temper flared. If not for the presence of outsiders, she would have rolled up her sleeves and given someone a good beating.

(The chapter ends.)